Ectomycorrhizal community composition, diversity, and their environmental drivers across common UK temperate woodlands

• Main Author: Ong, Wei Sern
• Other Authors: Kelly Andersen
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Science::Biological sciences::Ecology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/165750
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Forming the interface between soil matrix and tree roots, ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are important fungal partners to many host trees in temperate ecosystems. They are known to have key roles in soil processes and plant health, driving nutrient cycling and carbons sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and promoting successful establishment of tree seedlings. However, there is a lack of understanding on how these fungi are distributed, whether different fungi taxa have different roles in supporting ecosystem functions, and which variables shape ECM communities. This study explored how ECM community composition, richness and colonization rates differed between four common woodland landscape types in Wakehurst (UK) woodlands, and evaluated potential influences of soil properties and aboveground vegetation on those observations. Soil samples were collected from the four habitats during the autumn season for ECM analysis. ECM richness, diversity and taxonomic community composition were determined by Sanger sequencing of the fungal ITS gene from collected ECM root tip samples, while functional traits and morphology of the ectomycorrhizas were also recorded. ECM community composition was found to be significantly different between the habitats, and pH and vegetation species richness were main variables driving dissimilarity in community composition. These findings corroborate existing studies which have found host factors and pH as key environmental filters of ECM community composition. Soil nutrients however did not show strong correlations to the ECM communities, which may be due to the limited difference in nutrient levels between habitats. While overall ECM richness/diversity was higher among the ancient semi-natural broadleaved habitats than the coniferous-dominant planted woodlands, coppicing and monoculture growth did not appear to reduce ECM richness when compared against their non-coppiced woodlands and mixed conifer woodlands counterparts. The main variables identified to influence ECM community composition (pH, vegetation species richness) were also different from the variables identified to influence ECM richness (vegetation proportions, fine root biomass). Overall, our findings contribute towards developing a more comprehensive assessment of ECM communities and their driving factors in the context of common UK woodlands habitats.